


Never Let Me Go

by tayryn



Category: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Genre: F/M, Old Age, Romance, Tissue Warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-02
Updated: 2013-08-02
Packaged: 2017-12-22 05:38:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/909541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tayryn/pseuds/tayryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Evelyn is at home in Douglas' arms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to my Chum and Persiflage for the beta. Any mistakes you may find... those are all mine! *G*
> 
> Also, I know the "chapters" are short... but I have done it this way for a reason.

The first time Douglas held Evelyn in his arms, really held her; he’d just saved her from being run over by a speeding moped.

She had been unprepared for the rush of feelings sweeping over her as he held her close; the sudden emotions confusing her and causing her heart to pound frantically in her chest. She’d actually been grateful when the local musicians, just outside the nearby resturant, called over, breaking the spell that had wound about them. They’d shared soft, amused chuckles as they listened to what the musician considered romantic music, each of them chancing glances at the other, and after a short time, made their way back to the hotel.

They’d walked in silence, a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts as a new awareness sparked to life between them. Once at the hotel, Douglas had seen her to her room, and bid her a softly uttered ‘Good night’. She’d watched him walk away, her emotions, once more, curling and jumbling inside her.

That night as she’d curled up in her bed; Evelyn found herself reliving that moment in Douglas’ arms over and over until she’d fallen asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The second time Evelyn found herself in Douglas’ arms; she’d broken down over the realization of just how little she and her husband had really known each other, even after forty years of marriage. Hugh had kept so much from her, which she had only come to learn after his death. 

As she’d walked back to the hotel after talking with Gaurika, she’d thought back over the many years she’d spent trusting her husband. Then, in talking with Douglas, she’d come to the conclusion that Hugh’s need to hold back, to not confide in her or trust her, as she had him throughout their marriage, had somehow been a failure on her part.

She had broken down at the realization.

Douglas had not hesitated; he had immediately drawn her into his arms. She’d clutched at his chest, unable to stop her tears. His arms around her had been a comfort, and she’d found herself wanting to nestle in closer to him, to accept the comfort he so freely offered.

The awareness between them ignited; growing from a simple spark to a small flame.

Jean’s voice had been like a bucket of cold water.

They’d jumped apart.

She’d been mortified, and had choked out an apology before hurrying away. Her intention had been to go to her room, but instead she’d found herself up on the roof patio with Madge and Norman, gulping down the gin and tonic instead of the glass of water she’d thought it was.

Moments later, Douglas and Jean had joined them with the news they would be returning to England. She found herself looking at them both in surprise, especially Douglas, who had been unable to meet her gaze. 

She’d quickly made some excuse, and then gone back to her room where she’d flung herself onto her bed, and given free reign to the tears that she’d only just kept at bay. As she curled around her pillow, her sobs giving way to soft, shuddering gasps, Evelyn realized that she could still feel Douglas’ arms around her, could still smell his cologne, and it caused an ache deep within her.

She drifted off into a fitful nap, the memory of being in his arms haunting her dreams.


	3. Chapter 3

The third time Douglas’ arms had been around Evelyn, she’d danced with him - to no music.

Once Jean had given Douglas his freedom (figuratively if not, at that point, legally), they’d taken to spending all their free time together. Hours were spent talking and sharing, and getting to know one another on a deeper, more intimate level. Neither one held anything back… confiding every thought, every dream and every hope.

They, quite simply, shared everything.

It had been a refreshing change for Evelyn, especially after the conclusion she’d come to about her marriage to Hugh. Although, with Douglas’ help, she’d also come to realize that it had been Hugh who had failed her in their marriage, not the other way around

One particular evening, a month after his return to the hotel, they’d decided to eat alone in her room instead of with the others in the dining room. After they’d finished their meal, Douglas had surprised her when he jumped up from his chair, pulled her into his arms and began to gently sway with her.

There’d been no music, but Evelyn hadn’t cared. She’d slipped, quite happily, into his embrace and laid her head on his chest. The steady beat of his heart beneath her ear providing her with all the music she’d needed.

It had been a very sweet and tender moment, and when she’d lifted her head to smile up at him, she’d felt a spark of arousal at the heated look on his face.

 

_“Evelyn…” he whispered, and brushed his fingers over her cheek then lowered his head to hers._

_She felt his lips touch hers like a whisper, felt his tongue trace the soft fullness of her lips and parted them willingly to allow him to deepen the kiss._

_Evelyn moaned, quivering in his arms at the sweet, tender exploration of his tongue. She slid one hand up his chest, clutching briefly at his shoulder as another flash of sensation rushed through her, then delved her fingers into his hair to hold his mouth against hers. She wrapped her other arm around his waist, her fingers curling into his shirt as she pressed her body closer to his._

_The spark of arousal flared to life within her, and the awareness that had been steadily growing between them from their first embrace burst into a fierce flame that threatened to consume them both._

_“Evelyn…” Douglas murmured against her lips._

_“Mmm…?”_

_“I want to make love with you.”_

_She pulled back to meet his eyes. “I would like that very much.”_

_“You… you would?”_

_Evelyn smiled broadly, her hand sliding down from his hair to cup his cheek. “Yes, Douglas,” she replied quietly as she stepped out of his arms then slipped her hand into his and began to lead him towards her bed. “I would.”_

 

Amidst soft laughter and somewhat shy smiles, they’d made love to each other slowly and tenderly, all night.

 

_“When my divorce is final… I want to marry you,” Douglas whispered against her lips as he joined their bodies once more, and began to rock gently within her._

_Evelyn gasped as the pleasure quickly began to coil within her once again._

_“Will you marry me, Evelyn?”_

_“Yes…” she moaned her answer as she arched under him. “Yes, Douglas, oh yes…”_

 

From that moment on, he’d never let her go.


	4. Chapter 4

The last time Douglas held her in his arms, really held her; had been on their tenth wedding anniversary.

Much like their first evening together so many years before, they’d spent a quiet evening alone in their suite - a gift from Sonny on their fifth anniversary -, and shared a light dinner prepared specially for them by the cook. Afterwards, Douglas had taken her in his arms and they’d danced to the rhythm of their hearts, before moving to their bedroom and making love.

In the aftermath of their lovemaking, he’d kissed her gently, and thanked her for the happiest years of his life. He whispered how much he loved her, then closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, his arms wrapped tightly around her.

Douglas had not woken up again.

 

Evelyn stared down at the now lifeless body of her husband.

Douglas would not be holding her anymore.

“He looks peaceful. They did a good job with him.”

Evelyn looked up, startled by the familiar voice, to see a face slightly more wrinkled than she remembered, but with kinder eyes and a soft smile. She nodded absently in agreement. They had done a good job.

“I never did get a chance to thank you,” Evelyn replied quietly, her gaze returning to the casket before her, and the body in it.

“There was no need. Letting Douglas go and sending him back to you was the first truly selfless thing I’d ever done.”

“Nevertheless,” she looked back up at her husband’s ex-wife. “Thank you, Jean.”

Jean acknowledged her with a tilt of her head and another soft smile. “Laura said he went in his sleep.”

Evelyn felt tears well in her eyes as she nodded. “He… we were in bed,” she said softly as she absently began to play with her wedding ring. “We were celebrating our tenth anniversary. He… somehow I think he knew…”

Her voice trailed off into a sob, and she was surprised when Jean laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“We made love that night,” Evelyn continued in spite of the tears now trickling down her cheeks. “First time in weeks he’d felt up to it. He’d been so tired lately. No energy for anything much which was so unlike him. But that night…” A small smile played across her lips as she remembered their lovemaking, and her voice became wistful as she once more gazed down at his lifeless body. “He was my Douglas again.”

Jean gave Evelyn’s shoulder a light squeeze.

“He… he thanked me for the last ten years. Told me that he’d never been…” Evelyn’s voice trailed off as she remembered who she was talking to.

“That he’d never been happier,” Jean finished for her.

Evelyn’s head snapped up to look at Jean.

“I may have known Douglas longer, but I have no doubt that you knew him better,” Jean said, giving Evelyn another soft smile. “You made him happy in a way I never could.” The words were spoken without a hint of malice, just honest acknowledgement of the truth.

“He did the same for me,” Evelyn admitted, her voice still soft and raspy. “Douglas knew me in a way Hugh never did. In a way Hugh never wanted.” She’d long ago acknowledged this fact about her first husband and had made peace with it. “We held nothing back from each other.”

“That’s how a good marriage should be,” Jean agreed. “You found with Douglas what I found with Roger.”

Both women glanced across the room to where a tall, silver-haired man stood talking with Laura, Jean and Douglas’ daughter, and Evelyn’s son Henry. He looked up and smiled at them. 

Evelyn watched Jean’s eyes light up, and smiled softly. She’d had the same reaction each time she and Douglas looked at each other.

“I was delighted when Laura had told us you’d remarried,” Evelyn told Jean, ignoring the pain in her chest at the realization that she would never again feel that flutter in her heart by catching Douglas’ eye across a crowded room.

“Thank you, Evelyn.”

The two women fell into a comfortable silence.

Jean reached out, her hand hovering over the coffin for a moment before placing it on the cool wood. “Good-bye, Douglas…” she whispered then quickly lifted her hand away and turned back to Evelyn. “If you need anything, anything at all, just call our room. We’re staying here at the hotel.”

“Thank you.”

Evelyn stared at the coffin, aware of Jean moving away.

“I did love him, you know.”

Evelyn slowly lifted her head and turned to look back at Jean. “I know.”

“He will always have a special place in my heart.”

“Douglas felt the same way about you.”

“We just…”

“Grew to want different things in life.”

“Yes.”

The two women held each other’s gazes, understanding passing between them. Jean reached out to grasp Evelyn’s hand, gave it a gentle squeeze, then returned to her husband’s side, leaving Evelyn alone again with her thoughts.

Douglas would have been very pleased to see Jean so content… so happy.

Douglas.

She stared down at him.

‘No!’ Evelyn’s heart railed at her. ‘That is not my Douglas! It’s just an empty shell. My Douglas is so full of life… so…’

Evelyn could feel a sob building deep inside her as the grief began to overwhelm her once again.

Her world had gone dark.

Her only real light, Douglas, had been taken from her before she was ready.

She’d been prepared to go first. She was the older one after all, and had expected it to be that way. She hadn’t wanted to go through this particular pain again, but here she was… and this time, the pain was so much worse than when she’d lost Hugh.

Evelyn knew she would never recover from this loss.

It was too raw. Too painful.

She’d lost the other half of her soul.

Unable to hold it in any longer, the sob finally burst out of her. Evelyn covered her mouth with her hand to muffle it as her body began to shake.

Suddenly, two hands were on her shoulders, steadying her, and she was drawn back against a hard chest.

“Ma?”

“I’m all right,” Evelyn rasped.

“No, you’re not,” Henry said, squeezing her shoulders. “But I understand.”

Evelyn shook her head. “No, you don’t. You can’t possibly,” she said and reached up to cover his hand. “And, I pray you won’t for many years still to come.”

His fingers flexed against her in acknowledgement of her words, and they stood quietly for several moments.

“Can I ask you something?”

Evelyn nodded.

“Did you love Douglas as much as you loved dad?”

Evelyn took a deep breath and shook her head.

“I loved him more,” she whispered, and heard Henry draw in a sharp breath. “I know that isn’t the answer you wanted to hear, but it’s the truth.”

“How can it be? You spent forty years with dad, and only ten with Douglas. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Douglas. I did. He was a good man, and he treated you well, but…”

“He wasn’t your father.”

“Yes.”

Evelyn squeezed her son’s fingers. “I loved your father, Henry. But our marriage was not what it should have been, and I did not realize it until after Hugh died.”

“What do you mean?”

Evelyn sighed as she tried to find the right words. “Do you remember the story of how your father and I met?”

“Yes,” Henry nodded against the top of her head. “On a carousel at the fair when your horse gave way. Dad was there and kept you from falling.”

“And do you remember what he told me?”

“To trust him,” he said. “But, Ma, what does that…”

“Your father asked me to trust him, and I did. Without question, for forty years, only to find out that he’d kept so much of himself closed off from me.”

“…Ma…”

“Henry, I am not saying your father wasn’t a good man. But I realized that what we had for forty years was not a true marriage.”

“But…”

“Darling, tell me something. Have you shared who you are with Polly? Have you kept parts of yourself hidden from her?”

“No, of course I haven’t. Polly knows me better than anyone.”

“And, Douglas knew me that way. He and I shared everything, shared all of who we were, with each other. We had no secrets,” Evelyn told him.

“And, dad…”

“Your father kept so much of himself from me, Henry. There was a lot of him I simply did not know.”

“Like his gambling,” Henry began with dawning understanding.

“Yes.”

There was a long pause.

“I think I understand,” Henry said quietly. “I guess I just…”

“I know,” Evelyn patted his hand.

They fell into a long silence. Evelyn could sense that Henry was processing everything she’d told him, and trying to come to grips with the new facts about his parents’ marriage. She knew he’d come to some sort of resolution when he pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

“Are you going to be all right, Ma?”

“I don’t know, Henry,” Evelyn answered honestly. “Right now, I…” Her voice trailed off and she swallowed back another sob before finishing in a much quieter voice. “No. I don’t think I will ever be all right again.”

She felt her son tense at the admission.

“Ma…”

“Douglas and I loved a lifetime in ten years,” Evelyn told him, her voice still barely above a whisper. “And even that was not enough…”

“I’m sorry, Ma.” Henry wrapped his arms around her fully and held her against his chest as she began to cry softly.

Evelyn was grateful for her son’s presence. She truly was. However, his arms were not the ones she needed to feel around her. He was not the one who could offer her the comfort she sought… the peace she needed.

‘Douglas!’

Her heart and soul cried out for him.

She pulled out of Henry’s arms and turned to face him, wiping the tears from her cheek as she did. “I… I need to leave.”

“Ma…”

Evelyn glanced at the coffin and shook her head when she felt her grief beginning to overwhelm her, and knew this time that she would not be able to contain it. She turned back to her son.

“Thank you, Henry,” she said with as much control as she could manage. “But, I can’t do this. I’m sorry, darling… I just can’t…”

With that, Evelyn rushed out of the room in the hotel where the wake was being held, ignoring the calls of her name from her son and concerned friends. With tears blurring her vision, she hurried through the hotel’s courtyard and up the stairs to the landing that led to their suite.

The moment she stepped foot in her rooms, the hold on her grief gave way.

A loud, soul-wrenching wail filled the silence.

“Oh god…” Evelyn whimpered as she stumbled blindly across the living area of the suite to the bedroom, and collapsed onto her bed. Reaching for his pillow, she curled her body around it and buried her face into its softness. “Douglas…” she cried as his scent enveloped her.

She wept uncontrollably, her body shaking with every sob, the depth of her anguish beyond anything she’d ever experienced before. Douglas’ death had ripped her heart from her chest, leaving a gaping wound that, Evelyn knew, would never heal.

Evelyn lost all sense of time as she cried herself out, until only the occasional dry heaving sob shuddered through her as she dozed in and out.

“Oh, my love… I miss you so much,” she whispered into the quiet of the room.

Her body tensed when the bed suddenly dipped, and she felt a presence behind her.

She frowned. She hadn’t heard anyone knock, or even heard anyone enter her suite, let alone her bedroom.

Henry should have known better than to follow her, Evelyn thought to herself. He should have realized that she needed, and wanted, to be alone.

When his hand touched her shoulder, she flinched and pulled away. “Don’t! Just please go away!”

“Is that any way to react to your husband’s attempt to comfort you?”

Evelyn’s eyes widened at the familiar voice, and her heart began to race as she slowly turned over.

She gasped.

“Hello, sweetheart.”

“D… Douglas?”

He smiled that quirky little smile she loved so much.

She blinked several times, convinced that her eyes were playing tricks on her.

“You can’t be…”

A low chuckle was her response, and it sent a familiar jolt through her.

Evelyn shook her head.

She was dreaming.

She had to be.

Douglas, her Douglas, was dead.

And yet, everything inside her screamed out that the man before her was her husband. Even the fact that he looked to be at least thirty years younger than when she’d last seen him alive - only days before when he’d held her in his arms and made love to her for the last time - could not convince her heart and soul that it was not him.

The slightly amused turn of his mouth, and the twinkling blue eyes staring at her so intently, left little doubt in Evelyn’s mind that he was, unmistakably, her husband.

“You’re not dreaming, Evelyn.”

Douglas’ voice.

Her eyes shut as the sound caressed her ears. She never thought she’d hear his wonderful voice again.

“Open your eyes, sweetheart.”

Evelyn shook her head. She was afraid to open her eyes, afraid that he would be gone when she did. 

“Evelyn… look at me.”

She slowly opened her eyes.

“I’m real.”

Unable to resist, and needing to be certain, Evelyn reached out a shaky hand. When her fingers touched his cheek, she gasped at feeling his warm flesh.

“Douglas!” His name was a ragged sob as she cupped his cheek fully, and cradled his beloved face in her palm. “Oh!” She exhaled, then closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his, needing his kiss to really believe he was real.

She moaned when he immediately deepened the kiss and slipped his tongue past her lips to caress hers. Within the space of a heartbeat, Evelyn found herself on her back with Douglas’ hard body on top of hers. She arched under him, whimpering her delight into his mouth. She was panting when he broke off the kiss and smiled down at her. 

She smiled back as she stroked her thumb across his bottom lip and that’s when she noticed it.

Pulling her hand away from his face, Evelyn looked closer.

The skin on the back of her hand was firmer; less wrinkled, and had fewer age spots. Shaking even more than before, she touched her fingers to her cheek. Her skin felt smooth and tighter than it had in years.

Douglas grinned at her as he slowly nodded, silently answering the question in her eyes.

“How… how is this possible?” Evelyn whispered.

“You know how,” Douglas replied, reaching out to feather his fingers over her cheek before delving them into her short hair and cupping her cheek.

“I’m…” her voice trailed off as Douglas nodded, then gestured to the far side of the bed.

Evelyn turned her head.

Still curled around his pillow, on his side of the bed, was her body; aged and now lifeless. Not even the subtle motion of her chest rising and falling could be seen.

Evelyn turned back to her husband, her face filled with wonder and realization.

She was dead.

She was alive.

Alive and with the love of her life.

With Douglas.

A large smile spread across her face as she reached up to trace her fingers over his familiar, albeit younger, features. It would take her a little time to get used to seeing him this way but, and her smile grew, she apparently now had all of eternity.

“I promised you on our wedding day that I would never let you go,” Douglas told her, and pressed a kiss to her fingertips as she ghosted them over his lips, then rolled off her and out of the bed. He held his hand out to her.

Evelyn placed her hand in his and allowed him to tug her off the mattress and into his arms. “Yes, you did,” she grinned up at him as she slid her arms up around his neck.

“You didn’t really think I would let death stop me from keeping that promise, now did you?”

“No.”

“After all, it’s just as Sonny is fond of saying, everything will be all right in the end, and if it’s not all right…”

“Then it’s not yet the end,” Evelyn finished.

“Precisely,” Douglas nodded as he lifted her into his arms.

Evelyn wrapped her legs around him, combing her fingers through his hair and nuzzling his temple as he slowly made his way out of their bedroom, and headed for the open terrace doors.

“Everything was far from all right when you died,” she told him in a quiet voice.

“I know, sweetheart,” he replied as he stepped out into the bright sunshine. “It was the same for me, having to leave you. But we’re together again now.”

Their eyes met, and slow smiles spread across their faces

Evelyn lowered her mouth to his, and whispered against his lips, “Everything is all right now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would apologize for not warning you about the character death... but it would have lessened the impact of the fic if I had done so.
> 
> I did, however, issue a tissue warning...


End file.
